


Chasing the Ghosts Away

by DoeOfTheWood



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Furiosa/Max can be platonic or romantic, Graphic Description of Injury, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-31 07:28:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8569624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoeOfTheWood/pseuds/DoeOfTheWood
Summary: Max turned and mumbled in his sleep. He was having the dreams again.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [this comic](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/241585) by Youkaiyume. 



Max twisted in the back seat of his salvaged and repaired Interceptor, eyes shut tightly. He turned and mumbled in his sleep. He was having the dreams again.

Hands tear at his face. Nails scrap at his skin. He's drowning in his own blood. His eyes are popping out of his skull. Soon he would be only a skeleton, the people he could not protect screaming in his ears.

First is always the face of his wife, blaming him for not being there to save her and Sprog. Her face flits between flesh and bone. "You let us die!" she bellows and reaches out for him with razor sharp talons. He jerks away, only to see a sea of faces. Faces of those who he had to leave behind.

He turns away and sprints through a maze of corridors (not unlike those at the Citadel), only to be met by more faces in pools of blood at every turn.

"Where are you, Max?" they say, almost mockingly. "Where are you? Help us. You promised to help us!"

He bolts again, only to be met by the worst of his ghosts: Glory, the child captured by Buzzards that he was unable to protect. "Stop running, Max! Stop running and help us!"

Glory's voice blends in with the rest. Max can hear nothing but roaring in his ears. That's when a new ghost appears. It's the one the young girls called Angharad, pregnant with a War Lord's child.

"You could have gone back for me!" Angharad screams, her face bloody. Her linen shift is stained with dark red spurts and her abdomen is ripped open. In her arms, she cradles her baby. It's a sickly shriveled thing, all grey and bruised from its untimely trip to the outside world. "You could have saved us both!"

Suddenly, Max awoke, ready to attack. As he took in his surroundings, he smelled guz and sweat and gunpowder, but, instead of warning him of an impending battle, it relaxed him.

He was back on the War Rig.

It was exactly the way he remembered it, from the chrome plated skulls on the ceiling to the worn mats at the bottom of the rig's floor. Furiosa was resting in the front seat next to him, her head turned towards him. She lifted herself up a little, the dark blanket she was using falling from her chest as she sat up, and reached out to touch his cheek. Max found himself not flinching away, but wanting her touch, craving it like he craved water, survival, a better Time.

When her fingers finally grazed his cheek, he closed his eyes for a second to just enjoy this feeling of trust he hadn't had in such a long time. He heard her say, "It's okay. Get some sleep. Rest," and he knew that in that moment, he was at peace.

That was the first night that Max awoke not with a start, but with the shadow of a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently this could've been a lot more angsty, but I can't do that to my precious Wasteland children.
> 
> I also loooooove the idea that Furiosa is the one who can chase the ghosts away and let him sleep once in a while.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Note Edit:   
> I am a firm believer that Max did not kill Angharad (I've seen Fury Road enough times to know, haha), but when your brain is crazy, you believe some not-true things.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Through the Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11833515) by [ladyarcherfan3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyarcherfan3/pseuds/ladyarcherfan3)




End file.
